'Many tears.' Canton choir reflects on singing during D-Day anniversary in France

CANTON − Earlier this month, the Chancel Choir at Christ Presbyterian Church took part in a historic event — the Paris Choral Festival commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the liberation of France.

About 75 people made the nine-day trip, said Heather Cooper, Christ Presbyterian's director of music and organist since 2019. Her husband, Britt, is director of the Chancel Choir.

Heather Cooper said the trip took nearly two years to plan.

"Britt and I were looking for that special, life-defining opportunity for this choir to experience together as a group that would be meaningful, powerful, memorable," she said.

The Canton choir was one of several American choirs which performed Maurice Duruflé's "Requiem" at the Church of La Madeleine, built in the heart of Paris built during Napoleon Bonaparte's reign. Other ensembles were from Cincinnati, California, Utah, Michigan, Arizona and Alabama.

"The spiritual emphasis for us was singing Duruflé's 'Requiem,' which is one of the monumental choral masterworks, and a piece that's deeply meaningful to this group," Cooper said. "(Our) choir has sung this piece before. We actually performed the entire program on April 19 here at the church with a chamber orchestra as a prelude to going on the trip. It was a wonderful spiritual experience, combining with others to create a 350-voice choir, with a full orchestra."

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Duruflé was French, but "Requiem" was composed in Latin because requiems are typically written for a Latin Mass, Cooper explained. "So fortunately, for us, we were singing in Latin, which is much more familiar than French."

"I think what sets Duruflé apart is that it is profoundly, I would say, achingly, beautiful. It's based on a Gregorian chant, and so there is a lightness, a peacefulness to it," she said. "It has this ethereal quality to it that is comforting when you contemplate the life of someone whom you loved, which is the whole purpose of singing a requiem. It's finding a piece of music that honors the person that we're thinking of when we sing it. It has this uplifting, big, comforting music. It kind of floats, as you're singing it. ... It simply lifts and soars and is just beautiful."

The group's itinerary included some of the city's famous sites, including rides on the Seine River and Mont Saint-Michel, which is on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

On July 4, they visited the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, joining other choirs in performing "The Star Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful."

"We have members who made the trip who had relatives, uncles, grandparents who were there on D-Day," Cooper said. "For all of us, whether you had a personal connection or whether it was just that historical component, being there, looking at Omaha Beach, looking at the cliffs that were scaled. It just made everything real in a way that history books don't quite convey. It was a deeply impactful experience for all of us."

It was a moment she'll never forget.

"For anybody who's been to Arlington [National Cemetery], you know you feel that same sense of reverence," she said. "It's a beautiful monument and pavilion with maps on either side of it that stretch 30 feet tall. So, we, along with a couple of the other visiting choirs, are singing 'The Star Spangled Banner,' looking out over the graves of the thousands of servicemen there. And you're singing a piece that you've done any number of times, but singing it for your country in a place where so many people sacrificed so much. There were many tears."

The Rev. Ben George, Christ Presbyterian Church's co-pastor, said it was one of his favorite moments.

"The experience was incredibly powerful, especially being in Normandy over July 4th," he said. "The sacrifice of the soldiers 80 years ago was palpable as we heard the 'Star-Spangled Banner' and looked out over the graves. But the moment that caught me the most off-guard was when we arrived at Omaha Beach.

"As soon as my feet hit the sand, tears began streaming down my face. I thought of how easy it was for me to walk to that beach when it was such a difficult journey for those soldiers that fought to get there. My wife, Kate, was especially moved because we had a young man on the trip who had just graduated high school. He was the age those soldiers would have been."

George said the trip deepened members' relationships.

"While the choral performance in Paris was the highlight of the trip, it was powerful to watch the whole group bond through the experience of traveling together," he said. "Through sicknesses, travel frustrations, and the challenges of language, (they) became one group that supported one another, laughed together, and experienced God in another part of the world.

"Our tour guides remarked about how kind and caring our group was throughout all of our travels. It brings me joy to know that our church displayed God's love and grace in both word and deed."

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com . On X (formerly Twitter): @cgoshayREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: 'Many tears.' Canton choir reflects on singing during D-Day anniversary in France